Business of the House

Warinder Juss Excerpts

Thursday 12th March 2026 Commons Chamber

[Sir Alan Campbell]

I understand public concern when issues such as those arise, and whenever possible, of course the authorities need to listen to residents. Should the hon. Gentleman seek a Westminster Hall debate, I am sure that others will seek to join him in that because there are common concerns in other areas of the country.

[Warinder Juss (Wolverhampton West) (Lab)]

A constituent contacted my office to say that their daughter and her partner are caught in a student loans trap, where although they are both working and paying back their loans, they are hardly making any headway in reducing their debts. Apparently, of those with student loans, 76% feel trapped by a student loan balance that keeps growing despite their repayments, 87% do not think that the 6.2% interest rate on plan 2 loans is fair and 81% say that they were not fully informed about the terms of the loan when they took it out. I am aware of the inquiry that has been launched by the Treasury Committee, but will the Leader of the House please agree to a debate in Government time in due course about how we can make student loans fairer, so that our young graduates do not face a life of never-ending, overwhelming debt?

[Sir Alan Campbell]

We inherited a system of student loans that was effectively broken for many people. We are trying to make changes to the system to make it fairer, and we will continue to look at ways to do that. My hon. Friend refers to the Treasury Committee, which is looking into the matter. Once the Committee has been given time to consider it, hopefully it will be brought to the Floor of the House and will lead to the debate that my hon. Friend seeks.